Grand jury shuts down police department

Independence Journal - Hanceville, Alabama (population about 3,000) dissolved its police department after a corruption probe and indictments of the chief and four officers. The case began accelerating after a dispatcher with evidence-room access died of a multi-drug overdose in 2024, triggering deeper scrutiny of evidence handling.

Investigators uncovered allegations including missing drugs, undocumented guns, evidence tampering, and harassment of residents—undermining due process and public trust. Prosecutors dismissed 58 felony cases dating back to 2018 because evidence integrity was compromised, raising fears of both wrongful convictions and guilty people walking.